Fangs of My Father
by Silent Scribe
Summary: A collection of Father's Day tribute regarding Rin and Sesshomaru.
1. Rin's Gift

**Rin's Gift**

His stare was blank by normal standards, but those who knew Sesshomaru could tell that such an "expression" was his most pensive.

It had been a few weeks now since he had revived that human runt; he still wasn't sure what he'd been thinking drawing Tenseiga and committing himself to the needs of a child. Yet, he couldn't find the - Sesshomaru smirked at the sentimental word - heart to abandon her.

_This is a_ _ridiculous paradox_, he thought. _What purpose does that mortal girl have to me?_

He turned at the sudden arrival of a new scent. Rin was staring at him.

Sesshomaru suppressed the urge to shift uneasily. Why did he feel guilty?

Rin simply smiled back. She had noticed how lonely her liege appeared. What had he been thinking about? Was something troubling him? Could she help? A score of questions tumbled through her head, but one resolution rang clear. She had the perfect gift in mind.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" She pranced up to him. "May I tell you something?"

Sesshomaru flicked his icy gaze downward, making no other motions to accommodate her vertical disadvantage.

"Uh, could you please come down?" Rin gestured so adamantly the demon lord couldn't ignore feeling obliged.

Seated, Sesshomaru sighed. "So wha- "

The Western Lord had never before been interrupted, and if anyone were ever so brazen to try venomous claws insured the error wouldn't be repeated. But now all pragmatic thought ceased. After all, no one had thought to addle Sesshomaru with a kiss.

Another smile spread across Rin's face as she pressed her lips to the daiyokai's striped cheek. The sullen countenance had been wiped clean - albeit by a shocked one.

Rin drew away gently. " 'Kay, that's all! Thanks for listening." Mission accomplished, she skipped off.

Sesshomaru ran his hand over his birthmarks, futilely attempting to regain composure. He didn't, and gave a smaller-scale expression of Rin's.

He may not have been sure of that child's purpose, but she had certainly given him his.

-

_A/N: This is a first installment in a Father's Day Collection, more will be coming. __**Critique appreciated. **_


	2. The Greater Good

_A/N: This for all of us with working parents._

_-_

**The Greater Good**

The scent of sakura drifted through on the back of a summer breeze - a sigh in the suffocating room.

Sesshomaru tried covering his nose to no avail. He also attempted to anchor his gaze to the territory map before him, but somehow his gaze managed to creep back to the window.

Outside in the garden, Rin kicked a komati ball towards the disinterested Jaken. When he didn't kick back, she heaved a dejected sigh.

Still sitting in his war-room, Sesshomaru locked his eyes on the map. Captain Murakami would be here tomorrow, and an outline itinerary was of the utmost priority. Rin would just have to wait.

_But I won't be present even if the scheme is put into action._ Sesshomaru furrowed his brow. _I mustn't be a fool. I must consider the greater good._

(_Several centuries ago_.)

"Papa? Where are you going, Papa?"

"Campaigning, Sesshomaru. I told you I would be leaving soon."

"You also said you'd play with me. Don't you remember?"

"Well, ah, yes, but there's immediate business I must see to first."

"Like??"

"You're too young to understand borders and politics...it's just for the better. The greater good."

"Oh."

"Diplomacy, status, they'll make more sense when you're older. You'll see the value then. Take care, son."

(_Present_.)

Staring at the half-sketched plan, Sesshomaru set down his brush. He stood and slid open the main screen; picking up the desolate komati ball, he called for Rin.

Father's words made perfect sense - you always have to consider the greater good.


	3. First Hero

**First Hero**

Sesshomaru stared at the colossal construct of bones he once called Father. He remembered the great beast they animated, how powerful and how feared the Dog General had been.

Though it wasn't necessarily memories of his father's strength that made Sesshomaru want to shove forlorn back into the depths of his mind; it was the recalled images of how his father always returned for him after battle, unconditionally offered advice, didn't give a second thought to protecting him, and gently nudged Sesshomaru down his own path.

Fidel, wise, selfless, compassionate – that was Sesshomaru's first hero.

He pivoted on heel to leave.

-

Somewhere on Musashi's plains, Rin sighed at a passing cloud. Her father had lost his head to a highwayman when she was barely walking, then within a couple years after came the bandits and…she rolled over in the grass.

No sooner had the nightmares begun to seep, a comet streaked over head.

As the light took a nobleman's shape, Rin's smile returned.

To her, this being who chased away every sort of demon was her first hero.


	4. Measuring Up

**Measuring Up**

Sesshomaru couldn't believe his rotten luck. He had never misplaced anything since his first practice blade, but now - turning his castle inside-out - he couldn't find his best pair of boots!

_Those were custom made, imported directly from the Mainland, and manufactured from the finest leather_. Mentally, Sesshomaru snarled; externally, he leaned against the wall and furiously tapped his naked foot.

He loathed the entire situation. Mr. Meticulous wasn't supposed to misplace everyday essentials, and besides, going barefoot was meant for children, peasants, and half-breeds.

Inhaling deeply, the disheveled demon tried to remember the past few hours' events: woke up, killed a trespassing ogre, kicked Jaken for not knowing about the ogre, then there was that late morning conversion with Rin...

_What was_ that _about?_

-

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin had walked into his war-room unannounced for the fourth time that day.

"What is it?" Sesshomaru's voice had gotten brusque by this round. He had been in the process of developing a new conquest itinerary and the gods would have it that Rin would barge in when inspiration started to whisper.

"What was the most difficult challenge you ever faced, m'lord?"

_Getting a moment's peace in the past year_. "Ah...I cannot recall. Don't you have another means by which to entertain yourself, Rin?"

"Can't you answer this one question?"

Sesshomaru thought, eyes flicking from one corner to the next.

"I suppose filling my father's shoes was the most daunting task." He took a second to sigh, then dove back into his scrolls - the idea was slipping!

Rin blinked. "Oh, okaaay. Uh, thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." She shuffled out granting Sesshomaru the privacy he so desperately craved.

-

_So then where...?_

THWUMP!!

Sesshomaru started, then dashed to the wing from whence the commotion came.

He burst through the screen, claws raised expecting to find an intruder. Instead, whom he found was Rin sprawled on the floor wearing his prized footwear!

She grunted with the attempt to stand in the oversized shoes, bout only succeeded in stumbling back onto her rear.

"Well, Lord Sesshomaru," she grinned sheepishly into his cross expression, "I guess you weren't wrong. The most difficult task really is trying to fill your father's boots."

Sesshomaru felt the corners of his mouth twitch, unable to keep the smile at bay. After all, you couldn't be angry with someone who was absolutely right.

-

_A/N: I tried this and Dad still rolls his eyes and says if I end up at the chiropractor not to blame him. _


	5. Only a Sword

_A/N: Spoiler alert. Deviates from Chapter 470 in the manga._

**Only a Sword**

Kohaku was confounded. It was just some moments ago Lord Sesshomaru had blatantly told him that his remaining arm was for only holding a sword. Yet at this instant, he saw the principle was forsaken entirely.

The typically prideful demon cradled his revived child, and the blade lay in forgotten isolation.


	6. Can't Touch This Sesshomaru

**Can't Touch This (Sesshomaru)**

Jaken paced around lost in his own thoughts. In the past four seasons since that mortal girl arrived something in Sesshomaru had changed. The quests for power weren't as frequent, the adventure not as perilous, and the compromises for the child took priority. What in all the worlds had happened to Lord Sesshomaru?

The imp did some information scouting and drafted a plan to find out if his once ferocious lord was truly losing his bite.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken squawked as though the sky was falling. Sesshomaru glared up from his accounting scrolls with no small amount of irritation.

"What is it, Jaken?" The daiyokai's words were clipped.

Jaken stammered for what seemed like an hour before he produced a message scroll. He cleared his throat and read. "Lord Torihito of the Northern Province has advanced his territories by fifty square fathoms. He intends to claim the northeastern mountains by the next moon." Jaken lowered the parchment, eyes bulging now. "Lord Sesshomaru, this means he'll soon have more land than you!"

Sesshomaru stared into the corner above the imp's head and instead narrowed his attention to the evening's sounds: a cricket chirping, the wind's murmur, Rin nearby locking up Ah-Un for the night.

"Ah, m'lord?"

He blinked. "I shall deal with Torihito in due time, but at the moment I'm better off than he."

Jaken shrugged and wandered away.

-

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken skidded to his master's feet.

The Western Lord shifted his eyes off Rin who was in the stream trying to catch lunch. "What now?"

"You know the eighth-century collection of the Yamato family paintings? The ones commissioned before they were exiled? Lord Kuribayashi in the South just added them to his personal art collection!"

"Oh." Sesshomaru placed a considering hand to his chin. "I suppose that's the closest Kuribayashi shall ever come to matching any of my treasures."

Jaken twitched at his lord's apathy - he'd always wanted those paintings - but he kept his beak shut...until the next moon.

-

_Third time's a charm._

Jaken had to search several of the castle's rooms before literally running into Sesshomaru in one of the corridors.

The dog-demon's eyes were amber torches in the dark, and Jaken nearly balked out of his final message.

"Out with it."

"Well, uh, I thought you'd appreciate knowing that InuYasha has mastered a new technique of the Tetsusaiga called the Adamant Bar-"

Sesshomaru's foot came squarely down on Jaken's face. He then crossed into the next room and snapped the screen shut.

After peeling himself off the floor, Jaken smacked his head again for being such an idiot. Of course Lord Sesshomaru wasn't going soft! How absurd! He marched back down the hall glad to know where his master stood.

Meanwhile, in the next quarters over, Sesshomaru settled down next to a tatami mat, still contemplating the past week's events. Since when did his retainer get the nerve to come off with such boorish remarks and gossip?

He ran gentle claws over Rin's sleeping head - his one gesture of affection.

_Territory, priceless artifacts, and even new power can't compare to my treasure. I'm still the richest._

-

_A/N: Thank you for reading! Posting this set meant a lot to me. If you enjoyed this collection, there's also "Four Fangs of a Daiyokai" and "What Fathers Do." Happy Father's Day!_


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